1. Field
The following description relates generally to wireless devices and more particularly to facilitating efficient manufacturing, programming, testing, and servicing of wireless devices utilizing the device's embedded wireless technology.
2. Background
Wireless computing device manufacturing conversion costs are a significant portion of the total cost of the device. The manufacturing process, regardless of technology, consists of various stages or processes and the devices are transported from one stage to another utilizing human (or robotic) labor. At each stage or process there is at least one physical connection or data interface needed to test, program, and/or transfer data to/from the device(s)—these physical connections allow the device to communicate with a tester, controller, programmer, etc.
The hardware (e.g., cabling, connectors) utilized in wired data transfer solutions to physically connect the data interfaces contribute to the overall cost of manufacturing the devices. In addition, there are costs associated with servicing, preventive maintenance, and repair of test fixtures to maintain the units in proper working condition.
Test fixtures utilized to support multiple devices also contribute to hardware and maintenance costs. Multiple data ports in a tester controller PC are used for data transfers to multiple wireless devices. However, there is a physical limitation to the number of data ports supported in a test controller PC. Hubs and routers are often used to connect to multiple devices, but the total bandwidth is shared across the wireless devices being processed.
There is also a significant amount of handling (human labor) required to connect and disconnect the device to/from the tester, controller, programmer, etc. A large influence on costs is the long test times relative to downloading data, handling, and physical movement of devices. Therefore, even a slight reduction in assembly process time and/or handling decreases cost of each device and can amount to significant savings when calculated over the vast number of devices manufactured.